The present disclosure generally relates to augmented reality (AR) systems, and specifically relates to a distributed AR system.
Augmented reality systems and environments allow a user to directly or indirectly view a real world environment augmented by generated sensory input, which may be super-imposed on the real world environment. Sensory input can be any form of media, such as sound, video, graphics, etc. Because AR systems allow for users to continue to engage with their real world environments in addition to a generated one, users may have less tolerance for large AR devices, as opposed to a virtual reality (VR) system in which the user is typically immersed in a fully generated environment. Thus AR devices tend to have smaller form factors than typical VR devices.
However, the reduced form factor of AR devices produces challenges for providing sufficient power and computation, and limits the capacity for adding additional features that may enhance the user's AR experience. Often AR devices are very heavy, or sacrifice battery and computation power to minimize weight and heat generation, resulting in devices with short battery life and reduced AR capabilities. Additionally, because most AR devices are Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), the weight of the AR device is limited by the weight carrying capacity of a user's soft-tissue and neck muscles. In addition, the heat generated by both the battery and processor may be uncomfortable to a user, especially since the reduced form factor has limited surface area over which to diffuse the generated heat.